Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com reported yesterday that A’s left-hander Tommy Milone has requested a trade after being demoted to Triple-A despite plenty of success in the big leagues.

Several beat reporters covering the A’s expressed surprise over the report, saying Milone doesn’t seem like the type of guy to make that request or at least make that request and then go public with it.

Last night Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com asked Milone about the Rosenthal report and Milone declined to make any comment, which clearly won’t do much to end the speculation.

At the time of the demotion Milone had gone 6-0 with a 2.55 ERA in his previous 11 starts, so it obviously wasn’t performance based and instead was due directly to the A’s acquiring a pair of starters via trade in Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. They’ll need Milone again at some point, but as a 27-year-old with a 3.84 ERA in nearly 500 career innings he’s certainly right to feel that he doesn’t belong in the minors.

Harvey, 29, spent 2018 with the Mets and Reds, posting an aggregate 4.94 ERA with a 131/37 K/BB ratio in 155 innings. He started off poorly with the Mets, so they traded him to the Reds in early May. He pitched much better in Cincinnati.

Harvey should have a spot secured at the back of the Angels’ rotation, but health and performance can always change that leading up to Opening Day.